The Israel LaFleur Bridge is a concrete pillar vehicular bridge located in
Lake Charles,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
. The bridge was built in 1962 as part of
Interstate 210 (Lake Charles Loop; a highway expansion that travels over the
Calcasieu River, south of Lake Charles, and back up to
Interstate 10
Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...
). It is named after Israel LaFleur, who spearheaded the project to build it.
The bridge is about long, and high. It is one of the tallest structures in southwest Louisiana.
The bridge survived the fourth-most intense
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
hurricane ever recorded and the most intense
tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
ever observed in the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
,
Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita was the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Gulf of Mexico and the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. Part of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which included three of the top ten L ...
. The bridge's structural rating is 96%, even after surviving two major hurricanes.
See also
*
*
*
References
External links
* {{Commons category-inline
Bridges completed in 1962
Buildings and structures in Lake Charles, Louisiana
Road bridges in Louisiana
Bridges on the Interstate Highway System
Concrete bridges in the United States
1962 establishments in Louisiana